The present invention relates generally to manufacturing production systems, and more particularly, to a method and system for providing continuous communication between process equipment and an automated material handling system (AMHS).
The efficiency of a manufacturing enterprise depends, in part, on the quick flow of information and process execution across a complete supply chain. Advancements in shop-floor activities include the automation of production equipment, material processing, material control systems, and the integration of these systems with a host manufacturing execution system (MES). Automating manufacturing processes for certain industries presents many challenges. Unlike the automotive industry, for example, which employs standard assembly-line processing techniques, the manufacture of semiconductor materials such as wafers in an electronics industry generally involves non-linear processing techniques and frequent changes to production tools that are introduced to the AMHS.
Moreover, due to the migration of larger and heavier wafers (e.g., 300 mm), manufacturers are relying more heavily on AMHSs to handle the processing and inter-bay transport of these items. Recent advancements in AMHS technology include the standardization of control signals that are transferred between production equipment and the AMHS, as well as the associated cabling requirements. This standardization ensures reliability in loading and unloading wafer materials at the production equipment load ports and is defined by Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International® (SEMI), headquartered in San Jose, Calif., in publication “SEMI E15.1-1108 Specification for 300 mm Tool Load Port” and is also referred to as SEMI E84 standard.
During the installation of these cables, automated manufacturing operations are halted to ensure the installer's safety while making the physical connections. Clearly, this slows down the production schedule and has a negative impact on overall productivity.
What is needed, therefore, is a way to perform these installations without taking the production equipment offline.